Apparatus for manufacturing molded building units



Sept. 30, 1958 w. R. VAN HOOK 2,853,763

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING MOLDED BUILDING UNITS Filed Dec. 18, 1950 @atett 2,853,763 Patented sept. 3o, 195s hee APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING MOLDED BUILDING UNITS William R. Van Hook, Maxwell, Iowa Application December 18, 1950, Serial No. 201,399

1 Claim. (Cl. 25-121) My invention relates to the art of manufacturing molded building units of the type known to the art as concrete blocks, cement blocks, light weight aggregate blocks and the like.

The object of this invention is to provide a mold box for casting building blocks that is easily assembled or disassembled.

A further object of my invention is to provide a mold box that is economical in manufacture and durable in use.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of the mold box used to form my building units,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the pallet on which the mold box is erected,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the mold box on the pallet and taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1,

The mold box shown is one designed to mold building units having a relief design on one face thereof. The pallet designated 84- shown in Fig. 2 has the relief pattern 85 impressed thereon in reverse with rising divider sections designated 86 marking out the various block sizes. which are held between the sides 88. Dividers 89 separate the various blocks longitudinally. These dividers are provided with holes 99 to receive core elements (not shown). Between the blocks are the fixed core dividing elements 91 which are spaced apart by spacer boards 92 as are the dividers 89. The end members 87 have notches to receive the top end projections of the dividers 89. The members 91, 98 and the inside of the ends 87 have a longitudinally centrally located raised portion extending laterally therefrom, as shown in Fig. 1. On the lower portion of each side member 88 extend the centering holding ears 93 which slidably embrace the bolts 94 of the pallet member. The ears may be frictionally held in place by the nut and bolt assembly 9S being tightened on them. The two side members are held together and clamped with end pieces between them by means of a lever clamp 96 engaging the hook bars 97. The hook bars are rigidly secured to the side pieces at one end and are engaged by the clamp at the other. In the upper right hand corner of the mold box is a xed partial divider element 98 that is left in place during the curing of the block. The reason for leaving element 98 in place is to The mold box is made up of the end portions 87 support the two very small blocks that are molded in that corner until they have been cured and are therefore strong enough to permit handling without support.

The balance of the mold box is used only while the blocks are being formed as will be explained more fully under the heading of operation.

To provide air spaces within the nished block which give the block insulating qualities as Well as lightness, core elements are extended through the mold box before the aggregate from which the blocks are made is placed in the mold box through the openings 90.

Once the mold box is in position with the cores ternporarily xed in place, aggregate is loaded into the mold.

First, of course, the mold box and pallet must be assembled into a single unit. This operation is most easily and conveniently accomplished by two people working together. The two mold box side-pieces 88 are iirst assembled along side the pallet 84 with the ears 93 on the side pieces arranged to engage the bolts 94 to help position the side pieces accurately with respect to the pallet. The end pieces 87 are then clamped in place by means of the lever clamps 96 engaging hook bars 97. Dividers 89 are then arranged in the mold box and the spacers 92 driven down to secure the dividers in place and to space them out for a purpose which will be clearer when the removal of the mold box from around the blocks is described.

After the aggregate has been tamped and the cores withdrawn, the mold box is ready for disassembly. .Some appropriate means of supporting the pallet and mold box at the opposite ends and the mold box with the exception of the fixed divider 98 is then moved as follows:

The spacer members 92 are removed from between the dividers 89 and this permits sucient lateral movement of the dividers to clear the sides of the formed blocks. The clamps designated 96 are released and the side and end pieces gently removed which leaves the dividers free to be moved just slightly in a lateral direction and then slidably withdrawn from the formed blocks. When all the removable dividers have thus been taken off the blocks, the completed moldings are left standing on the pallet which is then placed in a curing room by any suitable means as a rolling dolly or the like, and the blocks are cured in a manner known to any artisan skilled in the trade.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my apparatus for manufacturing cast building units and method of making same without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claim, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

In a mold box for use with an apparatus for manufacturing molded building units, a pallet having projections extending therefrom, sides capable of engaging said projections to align said pallet and said sides, end pieces fitting between said side pieces adjacent the ends of said pallet; said end pieces having notches therein, means for clamping said side pieces together to frictionally hold said end pieces; a pair of longitudinal dividers extending between said end pieces and engaging said notches, a spacer element between said pair of dividers, at least one pair of lateral dividers extending between and frictionally engaging said side pieces, another spacer element between said pair of'lateral dividersgsaid lateral dividers each hav- References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Endsley Feb. 11, 1908 878,945 9431966 Brandell Dec. 21, 1909 1,023,920' Brandell Apr. 23, 1912 Newman Apr, 1.0,. Seat June 12, Durst Dec. 22, Strittmatter July 3, Besser Mar. 26, Blackman Dec. 18, Wellnitz Jan. 20, Billman et al. Feb. 8, Ewing Oct. 3, Reed July 27, Zevely Sept. 4, 

